Fugitives
by Eris R. Lebeau
Summary: I understand Talyn's war with himself because I fight my own. Comrades in arms, we stand against the shadows in our own hearts. All other enemies seem weak in comparison.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: not my characters, not my world.

Continuity: set after season 2, episode 1. May not be consistent with anything thereafter.

Crais and Talyn caught my imagination, and I wanted them to have an adventure together.

* * *

_We can do what we want now. You should be happy._

Talyn's thought invades my brain, tearing me from my reverie. I banish the image of Aeryn Sun from my mind and force my eyes to see what's in front of them- the flickering lights of Talyn's instrument displays.

_We're free now!_ The thrill of possibility shivers through his circuits.

He's wrong about that, of course. If he wants to survive, he will follow my commands. Neither of us is truly "free." We are fugitives, and the difference between a prisoner and a fugitive is small. The need to avoid the Peacekeepers will determine our every move. I cannot let him be captured, can't let them shackle his will in order to exploit his weaponry. I must keep him safe, and that imperative defines me, gives me back the sense of purpose I lost when Tauvo died.

_I don't understand. Explain now._

At least with my brother, I could hide my fears behind a smile or distract him with a game. Talyn knows my every thought, can feel my neurons firing, even as I sense each pulse of energy that flows through him. He senses my fear, knows I'm checking the scans for any signs of danger, heaving a sigh of relief each time an arn passes with no ships in sight.

"We need to find someplace safe, somewhere to hide until you're big enough to protect yourself," I try to explain.

_I'm big enough now. And fast enough they can't catch us. Not the bad men, not the bossy lady, not even my mom. _Lights flicker, and Talyn makes a chirping sound that must be his laugh.

"No! No, you're not!" I bring my fist down on the panel in front of me. I haven't hurt him, but he senses my frustration and beeps in confusion. "You have no idea what can happen to a ship, to a man--" I have no words to convey my meaning, so I force myself to envision my brother's ship as it was destroyed.

Now Talyn is silent, brooding in a sullen adolescent way.

Exhausted, I slump into the bunk Talyn has grown for me. After what seems only a moment, I am jolted awake, more by Talen's excitement than by the jubilant bleating of his speakers or the flashing of the sensor panels. "What is it?" I demand, even as I see for myself.

The ship is a Leviathan, perhaps half the size of Moya. My stomach clenches and my mouth goes dry. Out here, it could be anything- a pirate ship, a merchant vessel, even a Peacekeeper transport. There is no way to tell from this distance, other than direct communication.

_Hail her now, Crais! _Talyn whines.

"Get ready to starburst!" I order. "We can't take a chance."

_She doesn't like me. She won't talk to me. _Talyn is hurt.

I smile a bit uncomfortably, knowing how he feels. Perhaps my perception is being altered by Talyn's, but I think the little Leviathan even looks a bit like Aeryn Sun, lean and graceful. "Trust me, it's better to leave now. Prepare for starburst."

A surge of power pulses through the engines as Talyn begins to comply, but then he stops as a new thought occurs to him. _What if they've got one of those things on her, like the one they put on my mom?_

"Yes, exactly! What if she's transporting Peacekeepers? They'll kill me and enslave you! That's why we have to starburst." I take a deep breath and will the vein in my forehead to still.

I'm not used to arguing, I'm used to ordering. I can't shoot Talyn for insubordination. I can't even put him in a headlock and threaten to punch him. It dawns on me that I'm neither a commander nor an older brother, but merely a nagging mother, forced to use emotional appeals. I would laugh at the sheer absurdness of it if I weren't so frelling terrified. "Talyn, please!"

_No. Not until I know she's ok._

Where did he learn that, I wonder? That piece of dren human, Crichton, was on Talyn for less than an arn, and he still managed to be a bad influence. I realize I'm never going to be able to make the young ship into the sort of selfish bastard you have to be if you want to survive. He'll get us both killed for some stupid, noble ideal. At least it's better than dying by Scorpius's hand.

I sigh. "Fine. I give up. Open a comm channel to the Leviathan's command center."

Talyn hums a tune as his circuits obey. He fancies himself a rescuer, sees himself as strong, unstoppable. Ah, to be that age again...


	2. Chapter 2

I hesitate. Is there any point in trying to hide my identity? Talyn is unique, the only warship/Leviathan hybrid in existence. Anyone looking for us will recognize him instantly. My name hardly matters.

"Leviathan, this is Captain Bailar Crais of the Rogue Talyn. Please respond."

_Rogue? _Talyn's thought-question has the cold feeling of someone trying to decide if he's just been insulted. 

"It suits you, my friend." He can feel the minute current of facial nerves firing as I smile, and he knows the name is not intended to offend.

In fact, his circuits have calmed. Somewhere inside him, a loop was running- _Who am I? What am I? What is my place? _The same lines of code had been executing again and again, neither of us aware of them until they finally stopped, broken by the simple designation, Rogue Talyn. Neither Peacekeeper warship nor Leviathan, he is simply himself. He has many worries still, stray programs running on top of his survival algorithms, but I haven't time to consider them.

Talyn's speakers reverberate with the Leviathan's response, "Captain Crais, this is Soraya Black of the Leviathan Kateri. I mean you no harm. This is a peaceful merchant vessel."

A merchant vessel! I lean heavily on one of the consoles, weak with relief. A merchant ship should have star charts to the nearest commerce planets. I can resupply, then focus on finding a planet with a suitable moon or asteroid field where Talyn and I can hide.

_She's beautiful! _Talyn's sensors have all focused on Kateri, tracing the shape of her hull, registering the heat flow from her engines, and archiving every detail of her physique. He'll fill his memory banks if I don't stop him.

"Put the captain on holoscreen, Talyn," I remind him. "And pay attention to your surroundings. Our lives may depend on it."

The figure on the holoscreen is young, like her ship, but not nearly as exquisite a specimen. She raises a frail-looking hand and wipes pale, tangled hair from her face. "I-- I'm not the captain."

"Then let me speak with him, or with your pilot."

She shakes her head, tears running down her cheeks. "There is no captain, no pilot, just me, and I-- Gods, forgive me, mother, forgive me, I-- I surrender."

"What?" It's strange how those words lose their sweetness when I haven't earned them. I've fought no battle and won no trophy. I don't want her surrender. I feel a waive of contempt wash over me. Is this nauseous mix of pity and loathing for the girl, who won't even make a stand, or for the man I used to be?

"I surrender, Peacekeeper. Kateri is yours." She says the words to her boots, not to me.

Talyn shivers with resentment. _Kateri belongs to no one. Tell her, Crais. Tell her she has no right to speak for a Leviathan._

I choose to ignore him. Talyn and I can talk later. "Surrender accepted. Prepare for my transport to dock."

The girl nods, and her hologram persists. She sits down, wraps her arms around her legs, and rests her forehead on her knees, hiding her face from me. Perhaps someday Talyn will learn to sense when a transmission should end. Clearly, he missed the note of finality in my voice.

"Cut the comm channel," I command.

The hologram disappears, but when I start toward my transport, I find the doors will not open to let me through. I'm trapped in the command chamber. He's being childish, and my patience is wearing thin. He demanded I join him as captain, said he needed help, and yet he resists any order he disagrees with. If I were still a Peacekeeper, I would have to report that the Leviathan hybrid program is a complete failure. Giving a Leviathan guns does not make him a warship, any more than handing a man a weapon makes him a soldier.

I lean against the door and face the center of the room. "Stop this foolishness, now. Let me through."

_Why? What are you going to do? _

"Inventory the ship, to start. I need food and emergency supplies, as well as any charts and maps she may have. Once we have what we need, I'll leave the girl and the ship unharmed."

_I have your word? _

I sigh and move away from the doors, then turn to face them. "Talyn, my word means nothing. You don't need it, though. You know my intentions."

_True. _I can feel Talyn's processor heat as he considers the matter._ They are afraid of us, Crais. Kateri still won't speak to me. You must make her less afraid._

"I'll speak with Soraya. Perhaps if she believes I am no threat, Kateri will believe the same of you."

_Leave your weapon. _

I start to laugh, but when the doors remain closed, I realize he is serious. "Talyn, be reasonable!"

_They're scared because we have guns. I can't put mine down, they're a part of me. You're not like me. You can take your weapon off and not make others afraid of you. _

I shrug and set my weapon down on the floor. I have training in seven forms of unarmed combat, and one frail little girl is no threat. She was smart enough to surrender, so I can't believe she would be stupid enough to attack me, not with Talyn's guns trained on Kateri.

The doors open, and I settle into the cockpit of my transport. I press the ignition sequence and the engine responds without arguing. The transport is a mindless tool; I could set it on a crash course for an asteroid, and it wouldn't worry or try to debate the wisdom of my actions. It would simply do as instructed until the very moment of impact. Talyn should make a note of its example. 


	3. Chapter 3

As I step off the transport, Soraya greets me by waving a pulse rifle in my face. I quickly realize she's not trying to gesture with it, or shaking it in some show of bravado; her hands are just trembling that badly. Her dress leaves her flabby arms bare, and I can see the tremors in those pitiful muscles. It would take weeks of decent food and proper training before she could handle that weapon with any skill.

I can't help smiling. "Let me guess. You have never surrendered before? A bit of advice-- you'll have better luck with negotiations if you set your weapon down." She gives no response, so I continue toward her, my arms spread wide. "You see? I took your offer of surrender to be one of good faith. I came unarmed. I trusted you."

She dances back, still holding the rifle, although it will soon grow too heavy for her. I wonder what she'll do when she can't hold it up anymore. Will she put the thing down, or just shoot me to be on the safe side? Curse Talyn! If I had my own weapon, the girl would already be stocking my transport with her supplies.

I sigh in frustration. "I hope you are not under the impression that you have the advantage. If you fire on me, girl, my ship will fire on yours. Cooperate, and I will leave the two of you unharmed. You have my word as--" The phrase "as a Peacekeeper" sticks in my throat. I've broken that word more times than I can count. "As captain of the Rogue Talyn," I finally finish. She doesn't know it, but the promise I just made her is the most binding oath I can imagine.

She lowers the gun and leans back against the wall of the docking bay. "What is it you want?"

"Food, basic supplies, and all map information you have."

She laughs, even as a tear courses down one hollow cheek. "That makes two of us."

"I thought you said this was a merchant vessel." I want to shake her. There was a time when I would have, and I can imagine how it would feel to squeeze those soft arms until they bruise. I remind myself that such actions will accomplish nothing, and I fold my arms across my chest.

"I lied." Soraya meets my eyes for a microt before bowing her head and staring at her boots. "Are you going to kill me, Peacekeeper?" She drops the pulse rifle and kicks it toward me. "Go ahead. I ran out of food days ago, so it's not lot I've got long anyway."

I step over the weapon, toward her, until my face is a hand's breadth from hers. I want her to see my eyes when I say this, so I lift her chin with my index finger. When she tries to look away, I hold her face in both hands. "Soraya, I have nothing to gain by harming you. You have already surrendered your vessel and its cargo to me, so you are safe. There is no war between us."

"No war between us," she repeats. She licks her dry, cracking lips, tears still coursing down her cheeks.

"That's right."

"You're not a Peacekeeper, are you?" She tilts her head to one side and scans my face with her large green eyes.

I hesitate. Is it better to be feared or trusted? Fear can be a useful tool, but instilling fear is all about the application of leverage. To make someone afraid, you must threaten something she values. This half-starved girl doesn't care if I shoot her. She surrendered her ship without even being overtly threatened. She has nothing to lose, and hence nothing to fear. Perhaps Talyn is right. I can earn her trust, and through hers, Kateri's.

I shake my head. "No. I was once."

"What do you want from me?" She licks her lips again, closes her eyes and takes a deep, shuddering breath. Her whole body stiffens, bracing for an attack that will never come.

I let go of her, then step back and collect the pulse rifle. "For now, only information. Who attacked you and Kateri? How did you get here, and where the frell are we, anyway?"

"For now?" She runs her eyes over me and the rifle at my side.

"Follow my orders and you have nothing to fear from me, ever. I have some food aboard Talyn. Come." I take her by the arm in case she decides to bolt. I don't want to chase her through Kateri.

She reaches across her body and places her free hand on my shoulder, leaning heavily. If not for the pulse rifle, I would simply carry her, but I won't leave behind a weapon I may need. We stumble like awkward dance partners as we make our way up the ramp and onto the transport. She sits next to me in the transport, her eyes closed. I let her rest. Once aboard Talyn, I will use whatever method is required to obtain all possible information.


	4. Chapter 4

_Kateri is preparing for starbust. _Talyn's announcement greets me as I exit the transport.

"Then I order you to dissuade her!" I bark.

Soraya is clutching my arm as we make our way down the ramp into Talyn's docking bay. She squeezes harder for a moment, startled by my outburst, and asks, "Dissuade who?"

_I can't. She still won't talk to me! _

"That doesn't mean she isn't listening! Tell her-- Try to explain--" I sputter as no suggestion comes to mind.

Soraya tugs at my sleeve. "Captain Crais? Who are you talking to?"

"Talyn, of course." Irritated, I jerk my arm away from her.

She stumbles before regaining her balance, and looks at me as if I were pointing a pulse rifle at her, although I left the weapon on the transport. My irritation becomes anger. Have I not given the brat my word and kept it thus far?

_Her engines are almost ready!_

I feel Talyn's surge of panic and sense his need for me. I will not allow myself to fail him by letting Kateri slip away, carrying with her any information she may have. I must think! I start to pace. Through the corner of my eye, I see Soraya back away from me, retreating into the transport. How can I calm a frightened Leviathan when I cannot even keep the trust of a Sebaccean girl?

Crichton would have Soraya smiling and laughing by now. Dren! Why am I thinking of _him _at a time like this? Should I tell Talyn to make a nonsensical joke? Have him call Kateri by some ridiculous name? Perhaps he should tell a heartfelt story about being far from home, lost, in need of assistance--

"That's it!" I clap my hands in self-congratulation. "Talyn, tell her you're lost! Ask her if she's seen Moya! No, ask her if she's seen _your mother_!"

I sense Talyn's resistance, but in desperation, he complies. For a moment, both ships are silent.

I motion to Soraya to come out of the transport and grind my teeth in frustration when she shakes her head. I wonder if she saw where I stashed the pulse rifle? If she gets to it, I have no doubt she will use it. Like Talyn, I must find the courage to act against my nature.

Instead of threatening her, I smile, extending a hand. "Come. There is food and water below, as I promised."

She hesitates, teetering on one leg as if unsure whether to step forward or dart back.

_She powered down her engines, Crais! _Talyn is exuberant.

My mask of friendliness relaxes into a genuine grin of relief. Instead of replying to Talyn, I speak to Soraya. "Your Leviathan trusts us. She just decided not to starburst."

"You can't know that! You're imagining things." She shakes her head and looks at me with a mixture of fear and pity.

"No. Look closely." I turn my back to her and lift my hair, displaying the transponder lodged in the nape of my neck.

When I face her once more, her eyes have gone even wider. "What is that?"

"My link with Talyn." I ascend the ramp, take Soraya's hand, and lead her out of the transport.

As we make our way to the lower deck, I am aware of the two ships exchanging information at a rapid rate. I would be relieved to have Talyn's mind occupied for once, were it not for the fact that I still have an adolescent to deal with. Her hand feels cold in mine, and she is no longer holding on, but rather allowing me to drag her.

I stop in the middle of the passageway and turn toward Soraya. She's panting slightly from the effort of walking even this far. Her weakness is revolting, just like her sunken face with its dark-circled eyes and hollow cheeks. Before linking with Talyn, my thoughts of her would have ended there, but now I wonder if her father is searching for her, furious with himself and desperate to find where she has gone. Whoever her parents are, they have failed to protect her.

"Sit," I tell her. "I can bring you water and food."

She leans against the wall and slides down until she sits, slumped against it. I let her hand fall to her knee.

As I start toward the dining chamber, a thought occurs to me. What if the girl is exaggerating the severity of her condition so I will lower my guard? To prevent her from going far, I call out, "Talyn, seal the lower deck."

The door swings closed and I hear Soraya gasp. "You really are Talyn's pilot!"

I glance over my shoulder at her surprised face. "Perhaps now you will trust my word."

I fill a cup with water and tear open a package of food cubes, then stop. Why waste food on the girl when Kateri is already providing information?

"Talyn, what have you learned?"

He is annoyed to have his conversation interrupted, and there is a long pause before he replies. _There are Peacekeepers nearby! Three ships, two of them fully armed. _

"And the third?"

_Kateri doesn't know. _

"Most importantly, which direction were they traveling? We need to know so we can avoid them."

_I'm not stupid, Crais! I asked that first. No one told Kateri anything. She remembers them firing on her mother, Xera, then boarding her. Xera started screaming. After a few arns, someone boarded Kateri. The Peacekeepers fired on Kateri next, and she used starburst to get away. _

I pick of up the package of food cubes and sigh. "Thank you, Talyn. I will find out what I can from Soraya."

_I hope she knows where the Peacekeepers are going. I didn't tell Kateri, but I'm afraid. _

I repeat the promise I've made to Talyn, and to myself, too many times to count. "I will not allow you to fall into Peacekeeper hands."

_I know. I'm not afraid for myself. I'm afraid they might have Kateri's mother. That's why I hope you find out where they are. If we don't find Xera, we'll have to go after them. _

Ignoring that bit of foolishness, I return to where Soraya waits and hand her a few of the food cubes along with the cup. I nod acknowledgment when she thanks me, then sit down, my back to the opposite wall. My head begins to throb. For the first time, I realize the full extent of my failure in creating Talyn. He has the valor of a Peacekeeper soldier and none of the meek servility of a Leviathan. That much, I expected. What I cannot comprehend is why the frell he lacks the sense of self-preservation shared by both his mother and his creator.


	5. Chapter 5

Soraya has finished eating and drinking. She smiles at me over the rim of her cup. "I overheard you."

Her amusement irks me. "I must communicate with Talyn. Someone has to compensate for his mis-wired circuitry. I suggest you become accustomed to it."

She toys with the cup, rolling it in her hands. "My father was going to give me Kateri next cycle, when she and I 'came of age.' I thought of her as a cargo bay with engines, but you and Talyn-- You love him very much, don't you?"

I have no answer to such an odd question, so I ask one of my own. "What do you know about the Peacekeepers who attacked Xera?"

Her hands clench the cup until the knuckles are white, and her left eye twitches. "Just that they're lying, murdering, bastards looking for any excuse to steal from an honest merchant! When they boarded, there was no way they could have known what we had--" She squeezes her eyelids shut and mutters a curse, angry with herself for the slip.

I wave a hand dismissively. "I don't care what you were smuggling. Did you find out where they were going?"

"When they found the An-- When they found our item, they mentioned a base near Khanitia."

"Could you find it on a chart?" I ask. When she nods, I address my ship, "Talyn, have you accessed all the charts from Kateri's memory banks?"

_Some. Kateri kept asking why you can't just read a stream of coordinates. _After a sullen pause, he adds, _I told her my pilot is Sebaccean, and she laughed! _

"Very good!" I slap the wall in congratulation, the closest thing I can imagine to clapping Talyn on the back.

_She insulted you. How is that good? _

"She speaks freely now, whether or not you like what she has to say. You have succeeded in earning her trust. Now find out all you can from her! And open the door to command. I need to look at the charts with Soraya."

The door swings open. _Crais, Kateri wants us to help her find her mother. _

"Promise her nothing, Talyn. If the Peacekeepers get a control collar on you, they can wreak even more devastation." I try to keep my voice cool and commanding, but a note of panic creeps in. I have mentally played out the scenario many times, and I know what I would have to do if facing capture. I would destroy Talyn, and myself along with him, before allowing him to be collared.

_I understand. _The two ships begin exchanging information once again, their conversation too fast and too complex for me to make sense of it.

I stand and reach out a hand to pull Soraya to her feet. She can stand without support now, and her grip is stronger. I have to tug my hand away from her, and when I do, she remains steady.

As we walk toward command, I ask, "Do you think the Peacekeepers took Xera?"

She shrugs. "If they wanted her. That's what Peacekeepers do-- take what they want, kill what they don't."

"Then you know the creed." When she doesn't smile, I regret making an attempt at humor.

We are now standing on the command deck, surrounded by Talyn's various consoles. Soraya walks in a slow circle, admiring the instrument displays and the holoscreen where Talyn has projected an overlay of his charts and Kateri's. She stops in front of the charts and points to a cluster of stars. "This is where Xera was attacked, and here's where they're taking what they stole. If they manage to learn what they want to, it'll be worse than if they had Talyn." She licks her lips and takes a deep breath as if steeling herself to say something difficult. "Captain Crais, can you help me bond with Kateri, as you are with Talyn? And can you tell me where you had the guns mounted?"

"Kateri would never accept you as a pilot. Your minds are incompatible. I suspect she might object to having weapons mounted as well."

She tilts her head to one side, frowning in confusion. "But Talyn--"

"--is a hybrid. I specifically designed him to function under my control. He is only half Leviathan."

"I see. Will you help us, then?"

I nod. "I will return you to Kateri, and I will have Talyn instruct her to approach the nearest commerce planet you know of, or to take you to whatever family you have. Talyn and I will accompany you as long as we can avoid Peacekeepers." When she opens her mouth to protest, I add, "May I remind you that you are in no position to negotiate? Your surrender was unconditional."

"I know. I'm not stupid."

She sounds so much like Talyn I can't help laughing a bit.

She looks down at her boots. "I wasn't _negotiating. _I was _asking._ Haven't you ever just asked for something? Not negotiated, not ordered, just _asked?_"

I've done nothing but ask since I bonded with Talyn, and I hate it. Instead of admitting that, I answer, "Peacekeepers don't ask, and they don't talk to their boots."

"Alright then." Her chin snaps up, and she locks eyes with me. "The thing they took from us isn't a 'thing'. It's a being, an Ancient that the Peacekeepers were able to capture. Some Sebaccean freedom fighters re-captured him, and they hired my father to transport him back to his people."

I fumble for a moment, seeking the significance of the name 'Ancient'. When I remember where I last heard it, my mouth goes dry. "They are hoping to interrogate it for wormhole technology."

Soraya nods. "My father said there would be Peacekeeper prowlers darting out of empty space. There would be no safe place anywhere, not even the farthest reaches of the uncharted territories. That's why he took the job. It cost him his life."

"Then you and Kateri can find the freedom fighters and ask for their help. I cannot risk calling attention to Talyn."

I expect her to argue but instead she looks at me with a tearful half-smile. "My father told me to hide in Kateri if any Peacekeepers came in sight. I can't blame you for protecting Talyn the same way my father wanted to protect me." She points to the chart once more. "I should be able to contact the freedom fighters from here. They have a relay station."

"Why not send a signal now?"

She shakes her head. "They wouldn't listen to a transmission from a stranger. I don't know the codes, but one of the men at the relay station may remember me. He came aboard Xera to negotiate."

"Very well. Talyn, initiate starburst."

_I won't leave Kateri. She's too low on fuel to starburst._

"If you explained to her the urgency of contacting the freedom fighters, she would no doubt be willing to wait. We can return for her later."

_Would you leave Officer Sun stranded, with no way to defend herself or run? _

"That has no relevance. Kateri is--"

_A cargo bay with engines? Maybe her opinion of Sebacceans is accurate. _

"Talyn, we cannot afford to make these attachments. You must not allow her to influence you!"

_Three solar days to the relay station. And Kateri will not allow Soraya to return. _

I slam my hand down on one of the consoles before regaining my composure. "Very well. Three solar days. Soraya, you'll be sleeping in one of the holding cells. Talyn's sleeping quarters are quite preliminary, but there is a fully formed cell with water and a bunk. I'll instruct Talyn not to lock the door, but you will be restricted to the lower deck unless I need you on command."

"You want me here with you?"

Tauvo had a pet, once, a big-eyed quadruped that followed him everywhere, begging for attention and scraps of food. The way that creature looked at him is the way Soraya looks at me now. If she knew a fraction of the things I've done, she would fly out an airlock to get away from me. I had forgotten what it felt like to be trusted, but the rush of power I feel is an intoxicant I cannot afford to enjoy. I must keep my mind clear.

"I do not," I tell her. "But Kateri will not have you."

She stares at he boots again, disappointed. "Oh. Thank you for helping me, anyway." She caresses one of the instrument panels and smiles slightly. "Talyn, you too."


	6. Chapter 6

I awake to the sensation of someone touching my arm. Jolted from my dreams, I react with a mixture of instinct and military training. In microts, I am standing over my "assailant," pinning her arms behind her back and bending her over the bunk.

As soon as Soraya catches her breath, she cries out.

Her yelp brings me back to my senses, and I release her. "Talyn, lights, half intensity. What the flying frell were you thinking, girl?"

"I couldn't sleep." She moves her arms in slow circles as if testing them for injury.

I wonder when she borrowed that shirt from me. I should rebuke her for rifling through my things, but instead I watch the hem rise up her thighs as she raises her arms. The fabric drapes nicely across her chest, and though thin and somewhat atrophied, she isn't as young as I first guessed. Her long nose and slightly recessed chin make her face unremarkable, but the trust I see in her eyes makes up for all her other flaws. That kind of adoration is a grace I do not deserve, and if she stays much longer, she will find that out.

"Go play a game with Talyn," I tell her. "I've taught him several. Strategy or chance, take your pick. Use the console in the center. Talyn, allow Soraya on the command deck." For emphasis, I lay back down and cover my eyes with one forearm.

"No. I want to sleep here."

The bunk gives slightly as she perches on the edge. I snap up to a sitting position, take her by the shoulders, and try to push her away. Her hips slide off the bunk, but she leans on my hands, covering them with her own. If I jerk them away, she'll fall onto me. All I can do is hold her at arm's length.

I squeeze her shoulders hard enough to make her wince. "I am ordering you to leave now, and stay away from my quarters. Not asking, not negotiating, ordering."

She meets my eyes. "I'm staying."

I make no effort to keep my voice even, and my words come out in a growl. "I told you that you had nothing to fear from me as long as you obeyed my orders. You are not keeping your end of that bargain."

"I'm not afraid of you, Bailar." She puts one knee, then the other, on my bunk.

I let go of her shoulders and stand. "I am enough of a Peacekeeper to take what I want."

I expect her to argue, to tell me how she trusts me not to harm her.

She says nothing like what I expect, however. Instead, she brings her lips to my ear and whispers, "I'm enough like a Peacekeeper to take what _I_ need."

* * *

When I awaken-- how many arns has it been?-- I reach for her. I had resigned myself to the prospect of endless cycles with virtually no Sebaccean contact, had convinced myself that I didn't need the feel of another's heartbeat to remind me I'm alive. However, after being with her, I find that isolation is too much to bear. I am alienated, and it is as if a part of me has been severed.

"Soraya?" I whisper her name, even as I fumble blindly for her body. No warm flesh greets my touch, and no one answers my voice. "Talyn, lights!"

Darkness persists.

"Talyn?"

The darkness is not only in front of my eyes, but inside my head. I have no sense of Talyn's awareness. I realize that Talyn's absence, not Soraya's, is the cause of my distress. I reach toward the back of my neck, my stomach knotting in anticipation of what I will find.

The transponder is gone. Talyn is gone, along with that thieving bitch. Until I've found her, I won't know how far I've come from my Peacekeeper days. I have vowed to commit no more acts of violence, unless defending Talyn. I have promised I will never again act upon the need for vengeance. I can take what I want, and that is something that will never change. At the moment, I believe I can kill what I don't. I could easily order Talyn to fire on that blasted Leviathan if I knew Soraya was inside. When I hold her life in my hands, I will know my true nature.

In the mean time, I must find out where the frell I am.

"Talyn? Talyn! It's me! You know my voice!"

I expected no response. Still, the silence is agony.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading, or at least clicking. Your page views continue to keep me motivated as I write this story.


	7. Chapter 7

I hear a faint, familiar beep-- my comm device?

As I fumble for it, Soraya's voice comes through the tiny speaker. "Captain Crais? Are you alright? Bailar? Please answer! Talyn, ask Kateri if he's alive; she should be able to read his heat signature."

"Soraya! What the hezmota am I doing aboard Kateri?" I shout, hoping the comm device will pick up both my words and the fury behind them.

"Thank fortune! For a microt there, we thought we'd killed you!"

When I get my hands on her, the little trelk will wish she had. "Answer my frelling question! And tell your fr--" I take a deep breath and force my voice into some semblance of civility. After all, Kateri may be my only ally in this cracked-mirror existence. "Ask Kateri if she would turn on her lights."

I blink a few times as the sudden illumination stabs through my eyes. I am on a bunk in a small sleeping chamber, covered only by a blanket. My clothes lay folded neatly at the end of the bunk, my comm device stacked on top of them, along with a box of food cubes.

As I dress, I become aware of a tingling in my hands and feet. My fingers struggle with the buttons, just as my sluggish, pounding head grapples with the situation. I shout into the comm device, "What have you done to me?"

"I took the transponder from you while you slept. I needed to talk with Talyn. Captain Crais, I'm sorry. Please believe that!"

I laugh, and once I've begun laughing, I find I cannot stop. The situation is so frelling ludicrous it's hilarious. A former Peacekeeper captain, being held hostage by an adolescent girl aboard a failed experiment in genetic engineering! "Then you'll welcome me with an open docking bay! I'll get off the transport, you'll give the transponder back, and we'll all have a good laugh together!"

"No. Talyn understands what we have to do. He says that letting the Peacekeepers have the Ancient is worse than being captured by them."

"Talyn!" The name comes out as a primal howl, and the feelings surging through me are too raw to enumerate or qualify. A tiny part of my brain wonders if the separation from Talyn is still wreaking havoc with my mind. "Talyn, think! You know better than this! You asked for me as your captain because I can give you advice, keep from harming yourself! Stop this foolishness at once!"

I hear a string of forlorn beeps, and then Soraya answers. "Please stop asking. You can imagine how much this hurts Talyn! When I explained about the Ancient, he agreed to help, but only if I promised you wouldn't be hurt. I told him I couldn't swear to that, so he came up with the idea to flood your quarters with some kind of exhaust, enough to knock you out and transfer you to Kateri. When we thought you were dead--" She sobs, sighs heavily, and continues in a softer voice. "I don't know how you stood it, being bonded to Talyn for so long. His emotions are so strong it's overwhelming!"

"Now you know why he needs me in control!"

"Captain Crais, Talyn says you would destroy him before you would let the Peacekeepers collar him, that you don't think his life, or yours, is reason enough to allow him to be a weapon. He says you taught him there are things worth dying for. My father believed the same, which is why he took the Ancient on board Xera. I'm not in control of Talyn, just in agreement with him. We know what has to be done."

"Fine! Just allow me on board. Confine me to my quarters if you must!" I have a second transponder there, and though I may not be able to reason with Talyn, it is the best option I can see.

"I helped Talyn transfer some fuel to Kateri. She'll starburst if she has to. Otherwise, she's headed for a commerce planet nearby. Talyn says you must take good care of her, and that you must find her a pilot, the best you can get. He doesn't want me to tell you this, but he wants so badly for you to be proud of him--"

"Than he should leave off with this fool's errand and allow me to board!"

"Goodbye, Bailar. Take care of Kateri, and yourself."

The light on my comm device is extinguished, signaling the end of our conversation. I kick the bunk in frustration. Without expecting a response, I ask, "Kateri, lights off?" When that has no effect, I try, "Kateri, increase the temperature by one increment."

I shiver a bit as I exit my brightly lit room and walk to command. Some Leviathans can be taught simple verbal commands, but only after bonding with a competent pilot. Without a pilot, young Kateri is, as Soraya put it, merely a cargo bay with engines, and I am her cargo. On the command deck, I find her navigation system locked. I have no doubt that this is per Talyn's instructions.

I sink to the floor, defeated. Surely Talyn knows he and Soraya cannot rescue the Ancient. The girl may be naïve enough to believe otherwise, but Talyn has tactical programming. He must realize that the only way to keep the Peacekeepers from interrogating the Ancient is to destroy the base. He also knows that the defenders will be able to retaliate before he can starburst.

He will be killed, just like Tauvo, and the thought of his death cuts more deeply than the loss of my brother. Talyn, however flawed, is my legacy. My father charged me with Tauvo's care, and I accepted my duty as an older brother. However, I created Talyn of my own volition. I am responsible for him as much as a parent is for a child. No, more so! Bringing Talyn into existence was an effort of will and intellect, not a moment of passion. I wanted a magnificent warship, a tool to accomplish my ends as a Peacekeeper. What I found in Talyn is my own redemption.

"Kateri--" I trace a finger across the floor. "Kateri, if only you would honor one small request. Send a long range transmission to Talyn and tell him-- Tell him I am proud of him."

Unsurprisingly, there is no indication she heard me. With no way to make my peace with Talyn, I am left only one choice.

I must find a way to save him.


	8. Chapter 8

I may not survive what I am about to do. I stand in Kateri's pilot chamber, which now looks like a nest of wires and cords. I believe I have found the connection I need. Normally, it would connect to the Pilot's brain stem, providing a direct link of higher functions. It should interface with the transponder socket on the back of my neck. Having been linked to Talyn, I may have the discipline to manage the waves of information that will flow from the Leviathan's mind.

I stare at the cord in my hands. Peacekeepers do not pray. Depending on a deity is the ultimate form of weakness, an admission that events are beyond control.

My parents were farmers. Their livelihood depended on the vagaries of planetary weather, and they appealed to their gods each day. I have no right to ask those gods for their forgiveness, let alone their assistance. I have defied every one of their commandments. I have killed, stolen, and desecrated sacred ground. Like my parents, Tauvo, Aeryn, and Talyn, the gods are lost to me.

Still, my hand is steady as I reach behind my head and find the socket. My mind is galvanized by the flame of conviction, and I do not flinch as I insert the cord.

Blinding pain. Numbers, gradients, vectors, scalars, matrices, difference quotients, quadratures-- all at once. So. Much. Data.

After three thousand seven hundred and sixty two point nine seven microts (plus or minus epsilon, which is itself a function of time) I regain some semblance of awareness.

The difference between Kateri's mind and Talyn's is that she does not differentiate between autonomic and cognitive functions. She is equally aware of the computations for temperature regulation of her engines, and of her own astonishment at finding my consciousness linked to hers. She computes the flow rate of ninety three distinct essential fluids and manages two thousand three hundred and seventy different feedback mechanisms, all while studying me with a mixture of mistrust, contempt, and fascination.

My awareness augmented by hers, I begin to comprehend the beating of my heart (too frequent, by a factor of two point three four) and the regulation of my breathing (irregular, the product of a neural imbalance caused by extreme stress). This is worse than my reading lessons, when Tauvo would interrupt with his singing or shouting. I could not make sense of the words on the page with all that noise, and now I lose track of my heartbeat, so small and unimportant, dwarfed by the Leviathan's magnificent complexity.

"Kateri!" I shout the name aloud and scream it in my brain. "Kateri, help me!"

_How? _

"Focus! Help me find the part of you that isn't thinking about basic functions. I can't think like you! Stop probing my mind that way. Let my body take care of itself!"

_Kateri is Kateri. No parts. Told Talyn Sebacceans are all wrong. Understand now. Minds in parts. _

I could always put Talyn's thoughts easily into words, but Kateri is more difficult. Each thought holds more information than a single word can convey. She speaks in vectors of emotion, perception, and extrapolation. Still, she has given me something to latch onto, a process that does something other than regulate. She has also withdrawn her awareness from mine, and though I can now feel my heart beating and the air filling my lungs, my thoughts are once again separate from those things.

"Thank you, Kateri. Very good."

_Crais or Kateri-- who is Pilot? Cannot tell._

I chuckle at her small joke, relieved that I've found her personality. My smile fades quickly, however. "You know why I am here?"

_Talyn explained. Says he'll be back, but then why leave Crais-Talyn's-Pilot behind? _

Kateri's outrage courses through me, and I fall to my knees, my stomach heaving in response to the sheer strength of emotion. "There's something you're not telling me!"

_So difficult to show you only part, such a small part, now, growing slowly. _

What comes next is a data stream, and I can sense Kateri's frustration with the need to filter it, separating it out from the rest of her autonomic functions. There is a chamber, deep within her, where the temperature gradient is steeper than it was a moment ago. Nutrient fluids have been diverted there, and sensors are on high alert. Kateri's few DRD's patrol the chamber, preparing it for more changes to come.

_Talyn is only first of many mates._

I feel like a fool for not preventing this complication. I knew Talyn is impulsive and undisciplined, but with his guns to worry about, I had not considered his reproductive system. I should have disabled it, instead of leaving him in tact, and worse, going to sleep when Kateri was in such close proximity. Even so, I am fascinated with this new life, six point seven nine seven arns old. I cannot regret my actions entirely.

_Still, I wanted him to see the offspring. Don't want him to die. _

I reach out with my mind, trying to calm her circuits. "Neither do I, Kateri. That's why I need your help."


	9. Chapter 9

_How? _Kateri's question feels rhetorical, as if she's already given up on Talyn. Her consciousness is filled with pain, and she begins to focus on her system regulations once more.

I understand Kateri's wish to be nothing more than a machine, to forsake will and thought. I imagine an existence free from the torment of my conscience, unburdened by attachment to individuals or ideas, ruled only by prescribed algorithms governing signals and responses. It would be a relative paradise.

_No. Need you! I watch over all systems, you think. Crais and Kateri. Vision and vigilance. _

Trusting the young Leviathan feels too much like falling asleep next to Soraya. Still, I have no other choice. I lay down on the floor of the pilot's den and plunge my mind into her memory banks, dimly aware that she has taken control of my body. Her consciousness falls silent, and I drift alone through data streams of thought and memory.

Unsurprisingly, the memories she least wants to touch are recent. She transferred a prodigious amount of information from Talyn, with the intent of giving it to the offspring someday. Some of it I recognize as Velorek's handiwork, files left on Moya at my instruction. All the plans for the Leviathan hybrid program are here, and I curse myself for not having taken the time to read them earlier. If I had had the patience to truly understand the workings of Talyn's mind, perhaps I could have prevented this situation.

Self-recrimination is useless. There must be something in Kateri's mind that will give me an idea. I dart randomly past pieces of information, touching each thought but grasping none until-- That's it! So Velorek _had _included the safeguards. When I had suggested the idea, Velorek had become argumentative. Later, face swollen from an encounter with the butt of my pulse rifle, the man had sworn the codes were in place. I did not fully believe him until now. Thank fortune for his genius and my temper.

"Kateri! Send the following signal, long range!" I show her the memory location of the intended transmission, a complex sequence of pulses in varying frequencies.

_Talyn won't listen. _Even as she voices her complaint, she complies with my request.

"He has no choice. The signal is a safeguard, it will shut down his higher functions."

_Leaving him defenseless. Sebaccean pilot with full control. Not right. _

I feel my heartbeat slow, though I am terrified. My breathing becomes rapid and shallow. "Kateri, what are you doing?"

_Trusted you. Now telling Talyn not to listen. _

"It won't matter. He will shut down after receiving your first transmission, but that's only the thinking part of him. He can still maintain basic functions."

_Why do this? _

Kateri is literally holding my heart, so I choose my words carefully. "To buy us time. I believe Soraya knows very little about Leviathans, and even less about Talyn. The idea to attack the Peacekeeper base was only half hers, anyway. When she finds herself without Talyn's voice, she will spend the next few arns trying to fix him rather than attempting to complete the mission herself. In that time, we track Talyn's exact location. There is another code that should let me board him, if I am alive to do so."

_And then? _

"That depends."

_On? _

"Whether or not Soraya decides to shoot me." I am half-joking, but Kateri does not feel amused. I attempt to reassure her. "I do not think she will harm me, not after being bonded with Talyn. I can return her to you and take Talyn to safety, then restore his higher functions."

_Unconvinced. Talyn's mind gone, so no one cares for Crais. Sebacceans are all Peacekeepers. Kill each other. Trivial. _Her mind races with worry over Talyn, and her consciousness whips through my memories, snatching each act of violence and hurling it through my thoughts.

My heartbeat becomes erratic, and when I open my eyes, my vision is blurred. "Calm your data streams, Kateri! Release me. I no longer need your memories. Please!"

She ignores me.

"It was not my wish to disable Talyn, you know that! Release me and start searching for him!"

She pauses in her probing of my mind, holding several thoughts like a hand of cards. _Tauvo, Mother, Father, Talyn, Aeryn. _She studies that set intensely, having cast out all the other detritus gleaned from my mind._ Different. These feelings are like Leviathan's. Talyn may be right to trust. _

I take a deep, slow, breath, once again in full control of my body. "That remains to be seen. If I break the link, will you alert me when you find him?"

_Will send DRD. _

I yank Kateri's cord from my transponder socket. One thing is now certain-- I do not wish to murder Soraya. Instead, when I capture her, I will drag her to Kateri's pilot chamber, tie her in place, and put that wretched cord in the back of _her _neck. In this case, the thought of justice is more satisfying than that of vengeance. 


	10. Chapter 10

To pass the time, I explore Kateri. Near the pilot's den are several small chambers. A few of them are equipped with bunks, one appears to be a dining area, and the rest are sealed behind complicated instrument panels. From the arns I spent bonded to Kateri, I remember how carefully she monitored these rooms. Some have inert gas atmospheres, others have precise temperature regulation. She could ship any kind of cargo while keeping it under ideal conditions.

Talyn was correct in his assessment; she is a remarkable creature. Still, I feel the irrational need to move farther from the pilot's den. My mind and body are my own, for the moment, but that is not enough. I want to be away from Kateri, or at least as far as I can get from the center of her awareness. I find a wide, steep ramp and descend.

Her lower deck is a chamber large enough to allow for combat exercises, although I realize it must be her main cargo bay. I pace its length several times, my footsteps echoing into the emptiness. There is another sound as well, a buzzing that stops when I do. I begin walking once more, and the sound continues, barely audible over that of my footsteps. I stop again, turning in a slow circle. The buzzing does not stop until I stand motionless. I take a few steps forward, then quickly pivot to face the source of the buzzing.

The DRD chirps and wiggles an antenna in indignation, annoyed at being caught. In spite of my worry over Talyn and my frustration with Kateri, I can't help but smile at the machine's playful behavior.

"I take it you have located Talyn?" I ask.

The DRD chirps something uninterpretable and zooms off toward the ramp. As I follow it, I feel cautiously optimistic; surely this extension of Kateri would not play games if Talyn were injured or in immediate danger. The Leviathan's mind is a treacherous sea of data, turbulent with emotions. I cannot claim to understand Kateri, but I believe her feelings for Talyn are as simple and genuine as his for her. Her good spirits can only mean that Talyn is well.

Once in the pilot's den, I ignore the tremors in my reluctant hands. My desire for news of Talyn proves greater than any need for physical comfort. I force the cord into my transponder socket. This time, the pain is minimal and the disorientation lasts only microts.

_Found what's left of Talyn. Found what I need to make him whole. _Kateri shows me an image of our current surroundings, with our location and Talyn's clearly marked.

"That's the resistance relay station Soraya mentioned. She must have starburst there instead of going directly to the Peacekeeper base. What is it you found?"

_Code to undo what you did, give him his mind back. Hidden in his memories. _

"Yet you did not send the transmission." I feel a surge of gratitude and relief, even as I recriminate myself for not taking measures to hide the information from her.

_Can't find Xera. _

The Leviathan's grief floods me, and I struggle to keep myself from promising to help her. Only Talyn matters. If I allow myself to forget that, he and I are as good as lost.

"Kateri, I am sorry that you lost your mother." My words sound empty, but she knows the pain behind them. Moya was not the only Leviathan brutalized under my orders. If I allowed myself the luxury of remorse, I would drown in that useless emotion.

_Won't lose Talyn too. Won't wake him. Trust you. _

I will Kateri to starburst and feel the familiar thrill as she complies. For her, the effort is taxing, requiring extensive and complex calculations. I, however, am able to simply enjoy the feeling of power and speed. If Officer Sun were to experience this even once, I have no doubt that prowlers would lose their allure for her.

When we emerge from Starburst, Talyn is within visual range, floating still and undamaged near what appears to be an asteroid field. Kateri does not bother to greet him. Instead, she initiates several scans.

"Have your DRD lead me to the transport." I reach for the cord to disengage myself, but before I can do so, Kateri panics.

_No! Multiple Sebacceans on board Talyn. Scans show weapons. Hailing us! _

A male voice comes through Kateri's speakers. "This is Resistance Officer Jad Terryl. Leviathan, state your purpose."

Before I can answer, a familiar female voice says, "I told you, it's Kateri and Captain Crais! He'll know how to fix Talyn, I swear!"

"I told you to stay quiet!" the male voice responds.

"Show them on screen," I instruct Kateri.

Officer Terryl is the only figure I can see. When he first comes on screen, I see him in profile. I hear the sharp sound of flesh being struck, followed by a gasp and a whimper. He turns his narrow, acne-scarred face toward me, slowly flexing his right hand in front of his chest and wincing in pain.

He wears a Peacekeeper uniform jacket, torn at one shoulder and straining at the other, though the man is only of average size. The uniform's original owner must have been small, probably a woman. From what I have heard of Sebaccean resistance fighters, the jacket was probably looted from a dead enemy and kept as a perverse souvenir.

After just this brief glance, I understand the young man very well. He believes himself strong because he is capable of doing harm. He does not realize that rage clouds the mind as much as any other passion, or that cruelty is a vice more corrosive than lust or greed.

I smile, knowing that will infuriate him. "She is correct. I am Captain Bialar Crais, and I am aware of a procedure for reestablishing Talyn's connection with his pilot."

"So do it." Terryl gestures to someone off screen, and Soraya's face appears beside his. A large hand is tangled in her hair, and the barrel of a pulse pistol is pressed against her temple. Terryl steeples his fingers beneath his chin and raises an eyebrow.

Clearly, he hopes to appear the cool negotiator, but the sneering twist of his lips ruins the effect. He is a reckless boy, not a ruthless leader.

I do not have to feign amusement. "_Officer_ Terryl, I must warn you that the procedure will be ineffective if Talyn's pilot is incapacitated."

"I assure you, _Bialar,_ I will not be." Though he mocks my tone, there is more anger than irony in his voice. He twists his torso to show me the back of his neck.

I do not want him to see my reaction. I try to keep my voice neutral as I bark, "Kateri, cut transmission!"


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as the screen goes dead, I allow myself to laugh.

_Confused. _Kateri's puzzlement at my reaction only fuels her panic. Her consciousness devolves into an infinite loop. _No way to help. No way. No way. No way_...

"Kateri!" I use my most commanding voice, hoping to break the cycle. "Terryl took the transponder from Soraya _after_ I activated the fail safe. That means Talyn did not install it, which implies it is non-functional. He's accomplished nothing besides mutilating himself. If I were to activate Talyn now, he would be in full control of his own faculties with Terryl unable to influence him."

If Talyn is ever in control of his faculties. I wish I could hide that thought from Kateri, since I do not want to sabotage her confidence.

_Don't trust Talyn. Won't send code. _

"We would be able to speak with him. Linked with you, I can influence Talyn to nearly the degree I could before. I can threaten to order fire on the Resistance relay station and demand that they leave Talyn."

_Then Talyn and Soraya starbust to the Peacekeeper research vessel and try to recapture the Ancient. _

"Even if I were able to board Talyn, locate the second transponder, and remove the Resistance fighters, he could still starburst. I refuse to deliver myself to those self-righteous, hypocritical barbarians when there is no tactical advantage to be gained by doing so!" Having vented my frustration, I replay Kateri's thought in my mind. "Peacekeeper research vessel?"

_Scanned Talyn for new data. Found Resistance transmission. They believe the Ancient is being held aboard a ship. Returning to the base was subterfuge. _

"'Three ships, two of them heavily armed!'" I repeat Talyn's words to myself, realizing their significance. In Kateri's memories, I find images and sensor scans for the party that attacked Xera. "Talyn could destroy both Peacekeeper vessels before they have a chance to return fire. However, the third is a collared Leviathan. He could starburst if I try to board."

That leaves one rational choice. Once again, I wish I could hide my thoughts from Kateri. I cannot, and in response to my grim musings, she offers me a memory passed to her from Xera.

_The pilot folds two of her arms against her chest. "Captain Black, Xera requests that Kateri not accompany us on this mission. She is willing to escort the ancient, but not to put her offspring in undue jeopardy."_

_The captain, a heavyset man with the same pale coloring and recessed chin as his daughter, leans on the pilot's console. "The Peacekeepers will be boarding any vessel they suspect of harboring the Ancient. They know that a Leviathan would not endanger her young by smuggling the object of a Peacekeeper military search! Keeping Kateri with us is our best chance to avoid a boarding!" _

_The pilot shakes her head. "Xera is unconvinced. She will order Kateri to starburst before you have the Ancient transferred. She reminds me that _your_ family is safely boarded on the commerce planet." _

_Captain Black opens his mouth, then closes it. After a few microts, he replies. "Fair enough. Soraya will accompany us as well. Xera and I are both risking our own lives, and the life of a child. Will that suffice to demonstrate my conviction?" _

_The pilot's eyes widen as she listens to the Leviathan's response. "Xera says... it is up to Kateri." _

"You agreed to the mission?" I run a hand over Kateri's console, thinking of all those specialized chambers. She has the potential to be a successful merchant vessel. She has a purpose and a future, and still she risked her life without being ordered.

_Peacekeepers hurt Leviathans. If they get what they need from the Ancient, they can hurt even more. _

"Then you understand what I am proposing? I need you to starburst ahead of Talyn and scan for the Ancient. When you are certain one way or another, send a long-range transmission and then get away. You will be risking your own life."

_Understand. _

"Talyn will fire first on the Leviathan, with the intent to cripple it, then on the armed escort vessels. He may be able to spare the Leviathan's life, in which case I can remove the control collar and all other Peacekeeper technology."

_But you believe the Leviathan will be killed. _

"I am sorry."

_Understand. Agree. Forgive. _

Her simple declaration overwhelms me, and I cannot immediately respond. Soraya's blind trust was based solely on her ignorance of my past. Crichton, Ka Dargo, and Pa'u Zhann all looked at me with unapologetic distaste, unable to see the changes that have followed my fall from grace. Even Aeryn Sun, the one being truly capable of understanding my transformation, refuses to believe I am anything but evil. Talyn knows my heart and believes in my redemption while desperately seeking his own, but the Kateri's forgiveness is an unexpected gift.

"Kateri, I-- Thank you."

_Should I wake Talyn now? _

I pause, envisioning the response that would ensue. After seeing the memory of Soraya's father, seeing the combination of hurt and resolve that filled him when he volunteered her, I find myself determined to see her safe if I can. "No. I want to be linked to Talyn when you send the code. I am boarding." 


	12. Chapter 12

_Have sent the boarding code. Talyn's docking bay will open for the transport._

"Good. When I want to wake Talyn, can I use my comm to signal you?"

_Will listen._

"After sending the signal, you will starburst to the estimated coordinates of the Peacekeeper research vessel, scan for the Ancient, and report the results of your scan. After that, your order is to retreat."

_Understand. _

There is something she is hiding from me, a conscious thought she is working hard to bury beneath layers of data. With the resistance fighters holding Soraya, I do not have time to cajole the truth from her. I must trust that if it were vital information, she would not withhold it. Perhaps what she conceals is simply her own fear as she contemplates her duty.

I disconnect from her and follow the DRD to her docking bay. Before I board the transport, I scoop up the DRD, holding it at arm's length in case it decides to protest using any of its appendages. Once inside the transport with the door closed behind me, I set it on the floor. The machine races to the door and makes several futile attempts to ram it open before giving up, its antenni drooping in dejection.

I tap my comm. "Kateri, can you help me communicate with the DRD?"

The DRD's antenni stand up in what I hope is acknowledgment, and the machine comes to sit at my feet like an attentive child.

"Be certain that none of the resistance fighters are aware of your presence. I need you to enter Talyn's ventilation conduit system and follow my movements. If I signal you, cut the coolant line and allow it to leak for twenty microts before repairing it."

The antenni twitch in what I assume is confusion. Though no longer bonded with Kateri, I can almost feel her asking, _"Why?" _

"Because I may need a distraction. Can you follow my instructions?"

One of the DRD's appendages reaches out to tap the toe of my boot in what I decide must be a gesture of assent. Kateri's docking bay opens without my asking. As I make my way toward Talyn, I reflect that on the whole, Kateri has proven more cooperative than her mate. Perhaps their offspring will resemble the outcome I hoped to achieve when I began the hybrid project. With a fleet of such creatures, I could form my own resistance. For now, I must focus on reclaiming Talyn.

Velorek's fail safe code has worked, and Talyn's docking bay opens to admit my transport. I shrug out of my jacket and drape it over the DRD in case any of the resistance fighters decide to look inside. Judging by the games it played with me in Kateri's cargo chamber, the machine knows how to stay out of sight. Such is my army. I once commanded enough troops to subdue a planetary rebellion, and now I count myself fortunate to have enlisted the aid of a DRD.

Ideally, I will not require the distraction I requested. If I can find a way get to my quarters, I can use the second transponder to link with Talyn. Once I have secured Soraya's safety, I can signal Kateri and retaking the ship should proceed with ease. Seizing the original transponder from Terryl is something I would rather avoid, at least until the man is dead or incapacitated.

The transport door opens to reveal Terryl, along with four of the other resistance fighters. One of them stands behind Soraya, holding her by the shoulders. Her hands have been tied behind her back, and her face is swollen and bleeding. That gives me an idea.

"Officer Terryl," I greet my adversary.

"Peacekeeper." His tone makes it clear that the name is a form of profanity. "I've commandeered the gunship for the resistance. Your Peacekeeper-loving trelk says you can get it operational, so consider yourself conscripted."

I had hoped to retake Talyn with as little violence as possible, but with those words, the man has just composed his own death warrant. I want nothing more than to tell him Talyn and I will not be pieces in his game, and I want to say it with my boot on his throat. However, against five armed fighters, lies are the most effective weapons I have.

"You misunderstand my relationship with the Peacekeepers, Officer Terryl. At their hands, I have been stripped of my command, disgraced, and humiliated. I have been interrogated, tortured, and declared 'irreversibly contaminated.' My only wish is to keep Talyn away from them." A few solar days ago, that would have been the truth, though now I realize that there are many factions capable of using Talyn for destruction.

Terryl shrugs. "I don't buy your dren, but then I don't have to. You'll get this thing ready for battle, or I'll kill you, kill the girl, and scrap the gunship for parts."

I am filled with contempt. Surely an "officer" should know that the response obtained with a pulse rifle is always the one you hope to hear, regardless of the truth. I nod in mock-deference. "Very well, then. You have made yourself clear. However, I think both of us would prefer to see the gunship operational, and hence it behooves us both to behave in a manner that demonstrates good faith. I have come here unarmed, ready to perform the necessary repairs, which I will begin after you have complied with one small request."

"Shoot the trelk," Terryl orders.

The woman behind Soraya raises her weapon to comply, but the man next to her knocks her arm down and clamps a hand around her wrist. "Don't be stupid, Lora. She's the only leverage we have. Let's just see what he wants before we do something we'll regret."

"I won't regret it," Lora snaps. "She and her father let them take the Ancient. They failed us."

The man holding her wrist shakes his head. "She's a frelling civilian, barely more than a kid."

The other two fighters, a man and a woman, exchange a glance and a shrug, then sigh in unison, as if used to this kind of discussion.

I make no attempt to hide my amusement at Terryl's lack of authority. I nod my thanks to Soraya's savior and address my next words to him, watching out of the corner of my eye as Terryl seethes. "I have a med kit in my quarters, and I wish to treat Soraya's injuries there."

Lora responds before either man can answer. "I'll take care of that for you."

"Forgive my skepticism." I shake my head, then turn to face Terryl. "As another show of good faith, I will wait while you cast a ballot, if you wish."

Terryl's hand twitches near his pulse rifle for several microts before he growls, "You can use your frelling med kit. Lora, Pelak escort them to his quarters, then bring him to the command deck in half an arn."

Pelak drops Lora's wrist and gestures for me to proceed him.

As the four of us leave the docking bay, I place an arm around Soraya's shoulders. Above our heads, something rattles in the ventilation conduit, and I smile.


	13. Chapter 13

When we come to my quarters, the door slides open in response to my presence. Soraya steps inside, but I stop in the doorway and turn to face our escort.

Lora takes a step back from me, raising her weapon. "Go on. I'm behind you." She jerks her head toward the open doorway.

"I would prefer to treat her in privacy," I respond, ignoring her pulse rifle and meeting her eyes.

She shakes her head. "No way. You could have weapons stashed in there. I'm coming with you to make sure you're doing what you claim."

"I could search the room first," Pelak offers.

My mind races in search of a response. If I allow him to search my quarters, he may find the transponder. However, protesting too vehemently could give them the impression I do have something to hide.

Lora spares me from having to answer. "It's not just that. After what's been done to her, the last thing she needs is getting shoved into a room alone with a Peacekeeper. So you stand guard outside, I'll supervise while he fixes her up."

Pelak and I exchange a puzzled glance. He frowns at his comrade. "Weren't you about to shoot her?"

"I want her dead, not tortured. I still give a dren about our code of honor. Part of that code involves paying for failure. Another part of it says we don't inflict unnecessary suffering." She raises her chin in a way that says further argument is futile.

I decide not to antagonize her by debating the merits of her so-called code of honor. Instead, I allow her to follow me into my quarters. When the door closes behind us, I mentally congratulate myself on having separated the two resistance fighters. Lora leans against the wall near the door, still on alert and pointing the pulse rifle. This would not be the optimal moment to take it from her.

I get the med kit from its storage compartment and set it on the bed. Inside the kit, I find a small set of scissors, which I use to cut Soraya's bonds. She winces as I knead her hands to restore the blood flow. The cables left deep bruises, and I hold up one of her arms for Lora to see. "This was necessary?"

Lora shrugs. "The girl came to us saying she needed our help, but when Terryl asked for the transponder, she didn't want to hand it over. He ordered a couple of us to take it by force, and your ship here shot both of them. I don't call that necessary. When the transponder stopped working, I wasn't going to complain about her getting tied up." She looks down at my chest, too much of a soldier to look away from me, but unable to meet my eyes. "It's all they did after that... that's what I'd call unnecessary."

Soraya turns to face me and wraps her arms around waist. "Thank you."

I put my hands on Soraya's shoulders and push her gently away before sitting down on the bed and gesturing for her to do the same. She sits beside me and remains stoic as I clean and seal the cuts on her face. Though I wanted to do worse to her after finding out she had stolen the transponder, I now find myself furious with her tormentors.

When I have finished with her face, I ask, "Are you injured anywhere else?"

She shakes her head. "No, not badly, anyway."

Careful to avoid her injuries, I cup her chin and force her to look me in the eyes. "You're lying. At least tell me if there is anything more I can do."

"I'll heal. Just fix Talyn." She leans against me, trembling as badly as she did when I found her on Kateri.

I glance at Lora over the top of Soraya's head and see that she has lowered her pulse rifle and is staring at us with a mixture of impatience and disgust. I bring my lips close to Soraya's ear, hoping that once again, this broken girl will be more capable than she appears.

"I need your help," I whisper.

She runs a hand through my hair, and I feel her cheek brush mine as she nods.

"Pretend you are leaning on me for support. When we get close to Lora, stumble and grab her arm." Not daring any further communication, I kiss her on the forehead, then stand up, pulling her with me.

Soraya keeps an arm around my waist and teeters convincingly. "That stuff you put on me, I think it made me dizzy."

I mentally curse her over-creative theatrics, but Lora does not seem suspicious. Soraya lurches forward, seizes Lora's sleeve, and falls to her knees with a yelp I doubt is fained. As I had hoped, Lora's attention is momentarily focused on Soraya, allowing me the opportunity I need. I slam my fist into the fighter's head, and she crumples to the floor, where I take the pulse rifle from her limp hands.

I aim the weapon at the door and call to Soraya, "Get the transponder from the third compartment down on the left side of the wall." I then tap my comm. "DRD, now, above the doorway!"

I press the button to open the door, then step back. When Pelak enters, he does so through a mist of coolant. As he coughs, I strike him with the butt of my newly-acquired pulse rifle. He reels back, raising his weapon and attempting to aim. I sidestep his shot and knock him to the floor with a sweeping kick. When the muzzle of my weapon touches his temple, he tosses his own aside and spreads his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Soraya hands me the transponder and collects Pelak's pulse rifle.

"Drag your comrade into the hallway," I tell Pelak.

He rises first to his hands and knees, then to his feet. "They'll just starve you out. Hardly seems worth it."

"I appreciate your concern, Pelak. Now move her."

He places his hands under Lora's armpits and moves her through the doorway. When both are outside, I shut the door, put the transponder in place, and tap my comm. "Kateri, wake Talyn."


	14. Chapter 14

Talyn's confusion floods me even before the bombardment of questions begins. _How did you get back?Where is Soraya? Why did Kateri just starburst away? _

I have no time to answer him. "Talyn, seal this door and put me on the main comm."

He hesitates, his internal sensors scanning for the intruders. What he finds infuriates him, and he lashes out with pulse blasts from his interior weapons. The resistance officers return fire, and Talyn howls as his defenses are damaged. Stray pulse blasts rip into him, and through the link, I feel the energy sear his biomechanoid flesh. It is as if I myself were wounded.

"Put me on the main comm, Talyn!" I could end this situation if only he would listen, but he isn't thinking, merely reacting. I reach out to what I can find of his reason, desperately seeking a part of him that hasn't been lost to berserker rage. "Let me act as your captain for once! Allow me to speak for you, please."

After an internal battle, he relents, having calmed the hazmota that possess him in times like these. _You're on the comm now._

_Very good, Talyn. _I run a hand along the wall, needing to make some physical gesture to convey my appreciation. Once, I would never have thought to congratulate someone on having followed a simple order. That was before I became my own tormentor, chasing Crichton across the galaxy in an attempt to evade the pain of loss. I understand Talyn's war with himself because I fight my own. Comrades in arms, we stand against the shadows in our own hearts. All other enemies seem weak in comparison.

I smile as I speak into the comm. "This is Captain Bialar Crais. In at most three hundred microts, Talyn's life support systems will be shut down. Airlocks will be opened until the atmosphere is purged from every chamber save my own. Any attempt to further damage Talyn will hasten the process."

"You'll kill all of them." Soraya stares at me in astonishment.

"Only those who choose to ignore my warning. Three hundred microts is enough time for them to board their own transport."

_Some already have. It was a good idea. _I sense his mixture of admiration for the plan and self-recrimination for not having thought of it. Before I can answer, his thoughts shift to something else. _Kateri! She just sent a long range transmission. She says the Ancient is aboard the collared Leviathan, and she-- Kateri? No! _

He begins preparing for starburst. He has closed his thoughts to me, driven by something more primal than our link, and far stronger. If he reaches Kateri's location without my guidance, his tactical programming will cause him to fire first on the two armed ships, allowing the collared Leviathan to starburst away with the Ancient. Normally, such a course of action would be optimal, but in this case, it will mean allowing the Peacekeepers to gain wormhole technology. I must gain control of Talyn, which means I cannot remain safely cordoned in my chamber. I have no choice but to share his peril.

I turn to Soraya and see she is still holding Lora's weapon. Holding Pelak's pulse rifle in front of me, I tell her, "Watch my back. I need to get to command."

She shakes her head, her eyes wide. "But what about the life support?"

I open the door and enter the empty corridor, motioning for her to follow. "If Talyn even remembers my order, I can override it from command."

I run to the lift, hoping she will follow and willing to take the risk that she won't. My warning to the resistance fighters appears to have been effective; the only sounds I hear are those of Soraya's footsteps and my own. Breathless, she enters the lift with me and leans against the back wall, panting. After we exit the lift, I head for the docking bay, where I seal the doors, preventing the resistance fighters who have already left from coming back. That should be all of them, since time is running out. If there are any stragglers, I will have to deal with them myself.

On the command deck, the bloody remains of three resistance fighters glitter with shards from a broken console. Soraya gasps and bends down to look for signs of life while I proceed to the main console and key in the first portion of a code to seize control of Talyn's weapons. He responds by lashing out like a cornered beast, and I am brought to my knees by the jolt of pain from the transponder.

I need all the allies I can find, so I call out to Soraya, "The bodies-- is one of them Terryl's?" If she can reclaim the transponder from him, perhaps she and I can overpower Talyn.

"No. He probably left for the transport."

"Then use this." I pull the transponder from my own neck and toss it to Soraya. "I need to take manual control of Talyn, and I need you to tell him to fire first on the collared Leviathan. Just that message. Can you do that?"

"Fire first on the collared Leviathan," she repeats, wincing as she pushes the transponder into place. "Oh, frell! He's not listening, he's gone insane!"

"Just keep repeating the message!" I try the code again, just as the familiar disorientation of starburst sets in.

Soraya seizes my arm in both of hers, shouting, "I'm sorry! He's making me!"

I shake her off and push her hard enough that she lands against one of the consoles with a reverberating thud. There is no time to examine her for injuries. I turn back to the main console. We have emerged from starburst into a could of floating detritus, and it is too late for me to seize control. Talyn has already begun to fire. 


	15. Chapter 15

Talyn's cannon fire bursts the collared Leviathan, creating a spherical volley of shrapnel that tears into the armed vessels on either side. One of the crippled ships returns fire and Talyn reels, sending Soraya and the dead resistance fighters sliding across the floor, and forcing me to clutch a console for support. The other ship spins out of control, its engines destroyed by a piece of the Leviathan. Choosing power over precision, Talyn fires on them both with his main cannon, reducing them to shards.

Soraya struggles to her feet and moves toward the front view screen. "Captain Crais, did you...?"

"This is all Talyn's work. I would have aimed for the collar, then at least attempted to cripple the weaponry on the other two ships before destroying them."

"Then he must have heard me about firing on the Leviathan. I didn't think he did. He still doesn't feel like he's listening." She reaches behind her head and fingers the transponder, frowning.

"No, it was his tactical programming. Instead of ignoring the unarmed vessel as I predicted, he attacked it, knowing that the shrapnel would hit the ships on either side. He sacrificed the Leviathan to gain an advantage."

"Impressive. Now hand over the transponder." Terryl's voice comes from behind me, and from the sneering tone I can tell he is armed, even before I turn to see the pulse pistol aimed at me.

The man wears a pressure suit and carries the helmet under one arm. He steps toward me and slips on the blood of his own men, falling forward. I lunge forward and reach for the arm holding the pistol, but he smashes the helmet into my skull and for a moment I am blinded by a lightening bolt of pain. When my sight clears, Terryl has taken a step back and now stands swinging the pulse pistol to aim first at me, then at Soraya.

"Hand it over. And don't even think about disabling it like your trelk did with the first one." He drops the helmet and holds out a hand.

I nod in resignation. "Soraya, do as he says."

"But--" she begins.

"Just do as he says!" I shout.

Though Terryl has the pulse pistol aimed at my chest, the fantasy that flickers through my mind involves closing my hands around Soraya's throat. Everyone aboard the three vessels, including the Ancient, is dead because Talyn refused to obey my orders, and now I may lose my own life because of adolescent idiocy.

"I'd rather frelling die than hand Talyn over to him," Soraya grumbles as she removes the transponder. "But I'm doing this for you, Captain Crais. Catch!" She tosses the transponder in Terryl's general direction. He makes no move to catch it, and it lands on the floor, where it slides in a pool of blood.

Terryl shakes his head. "Nice try. Pick it up and put it in my hand, trelk. No sudden movements."

She looks to me as if for guidance and I nod vigorously. "Yes, Soraya! Just give it to him!"

She edges forward, hands raised in surrender, until she reaches the transponder. Wincing at the blood, she bends and picks up the device, holding it at arms length. She drops it into Terryl's palm and takes a step back.

Still aiming the pulse pistol, he raises the transponder to the back of his neck. Apparently, he has removed the other, believing it to be defective. He grins when he feels the touch of Talyn's mind, but then his eyes go wide with horror and he crumples to the floor, screaming.

I kneel beside him, seize his hand, and peel his fingers away from the pulse pistol. As Terryl continues to writhe and howl, I feel a sudden spray of warm fluid on my face. A sizzling hole has appeared in Terryl's abdomen, and when I look up, I see Soraya holding a pulse rifle and staring in morbid fascination. Terryl's eyes, glazed with agony, meet hers, and her mouth twists into a smirk. The trembling merchant's daughter I found on Kateri is gone, replaced by a hazmot of vengeance that wears her face.

I remove the transponder and then use the pulse pistol on Terryl's head, ending Soraya's reverie. She drops her weapon, kneels down beside me, and wrests the Peacekeeper uniform jacket from Terryl's body. She holds it up as if debating whether to put it on. The thrill of retribution outweighs the smell of blood and she shrugs into it.

I take hold of her arm and stand, pulling her up with me. We leave a trail of bloody boot prints as we make our way to the edge of the command deck. Once we are away from the carnage, I lean against the wall and pull the transponder from my pocket. I know Talyn recognized the nature of the debris that surrounded us when we came out of starburst, and I wonder if it is safe to link with him, even for me.

"He'll want to join the resistance now." Soraya puts her back to the wall and slides down until she is sitting on the floor, her legs stretched in front of her. "When we came here, those were pieces of Kateri. The Peacekeepers killed her. She was a frelling transport! She was harmless, and they killed her, just like they killed my father. He wasn't a soldier. He was just trying to take the Ancient back to its family."

"That explains Terryl's jacket. You're joining the resistance, I take it?"

She nods. "They aren't all like Terryl. Pelak isn't. And the Peacekeepers are monsters. That's why you and Talyn should join us."

"Be careful when you fight monsters, Soraya, lest you become one." I reach over and finger the sleeve of her newly acquired jacket. "I have already seen you take what you want and kill what you don't."

"I'll kill what needs killing and take what I need." She frowns and tilts her head slightly as she scans my face. "Surely you see the difference?"

I shrug. "I never called myself a scholar, so I won't bother debating minutia. Nor will I allow Talyn to be used as a weapon. He deserves to be something more."

"I see." She stands up and crosses her arms over her chest. "Will you at least let me into the docking bay so I can see Pelak? You are taking them back to the relay station, aren't you?"

I am half tempted to leave them adrift among the wreckage of Leviathans and armed vessels, but I have seen my share of death today. I nod.

She steps in front of me and stands on her toes to brush her lips against mine before saying, "Tell Talyn goodbye for me."

"I will, Soraya."

She swallows hard, as if about to say something that could bring her to tears. "It's going to be 'Kateri'. That's my _nom de guerre, _if you ever change your mind and want to find me."

As I watch her leave command, I wonder if she will someday be able to quiet her conscience simply by shedding the name she has taken. Will her sleep be riddled with dreams of those who died by her hand, or will those memories belong to someone named "Kateri", someone for whom the future Soraya takes no responsibility? For now, I believe she will be the worst kind of vigilante, driven both by personal revenge and by self-righteous philosophy. Many acts of evil are committed to avenge good men, but the greatest evils are done in the name of the greater good.

I stand in front of the view screen, staring at the wreckage. I wonder which pieces of floating detritus were part of the offspring and immediately bury that thought. If I can manage to hide it from him, Talyn will never know the full extent of the tragedy. Bracing myself for the force of Talyn's grief and anger, I put in the transponder. Even fully prepared for the emotional onslaught, I nearly fall to my knees.

_You ordered her to starburst so she could scan for the Ancient! _Talyn screams.

"Kateri hid her fuel levels from me. I could not have ordered her to her death, not after being bonded with her."

His thoughts blast into my mind in a whirlwind of interrogation, seeking the truth. Memories fly like sheets of parchment, and I cannot keep them in place, let alone hold on to any single one. When he finds my memory of being shown the offspring, his mind goes dark for a tenth arn and I begin to wonder if he has somehow severed our link.

The thought that breaks the silence is full of quiet despair. _It would have been like me. _

"What?"

_Kateri's offspring. I have a record of all plans from the hybrid project. Kateri found it when we exchanged information. You planned it so hybrids' offspring would be born with weapons._

"Talyn, I--"

_It would have been too dangerous. The Peacekeepers could have captured it and bred a fleet with it. _

"And if not, then the resistance could have used it the same way," I agree. "It would have lived as either a fugitive or a weapon. I've thought of that. I still regret what happened to Kateri and the offspring."

_Some things are better off not being._

To hear him say that breaks my heart. Talyn is my creation, my expression, my legacy. My existence has come to serve a twofold purpose-- keeping him safe, and keeping others safe from him. He is everything to me, but in spite of that, he is right.

I lean on one of the consoles, staring out the view screen into the abyss, and feeling the emptiness stare back into me. Perhaps both of us are better off not being. 


End file.
